South Carolina recruiting: Updating the Gamecocks’ efforts to help fill the trenches

Whenever Will Muschamp lands a commitment, the South Carolina coach drops a #SpursUp on Twitter. Come to SEC Country for the latest news, notes and observations in South Carolina recruiting.

Daley returns

South Carolina commitment Dennis Daley spent some time on campus this past weekend as an unofficial visitor. The Gamecocks 2017 offensive tackle commitment from Georgia Military College caught up with offensive line coach Eric Wolford, who he’d already seen twice this month.

“The first time we met, he came down here one day. He just touched base, we got to know each other, shared some personal things,” Daley said. “I really liked him from the first time I met him. He came off as a good guy, straight up. I can tell he’s a man of his word. It was really good. Then he came back like four days after he came the first time. We got together again and we talked again, talked more about school and how things were going to go. It was really good.

“He told me how important (I am) to him and to the South Carolina program.”

Daley, who went to Ridge View High School (Columbia, S.C.) before the Gamecocks placed him at the junior college in Milledgeville, Ga., checked out a few things around campus, including 650 Lincoln, where the players are housed. He also tried on a jersey and participated in a photo shoot on Saturday.

Big boy developments

With the news of Hank Manos’ offer from South Carolina, it’s worth taking a look at where things might stand for the Gamecocks in their pursuit of 2018 offensive linemen.

First, it’s worth looking at who’s on schedule to leave. Cory Helms, Alan Knott and D.J. Park are the only scholarship seniors. Helms and Knott are interior players; Park is a tackle.

Rising junior guard Zack Bailey leads the other draft-eligible linemen, and he’s certainly one of the primary players on the entire roster who will be tracked as one who might declare for the NFL in 2018.

Donell Stanley, Malik Young, Blake Camper and Christian Pellage are all sophomores. Stanley’s a guard, while the other three are tackles.

With a steady stream of offensive line attrition coming down the pike, look for South Carolina to sign another four or five offensive linemen in 2018.

Manos isn’t the only one to land an offer from the Gamecocks since the calendar flipped to 2017:

• 4-star OT Reuben Unije (IMG Academy)

• 4-star OG Cleveland Reed (Fort Meade, Fla.)

• NR OT Casey Holman (Snellville, Ga.)

There are a handful of offensive line targets who surfaced for South Carolina in previous months, several of whom appear to be seriously considering the Gamecocks: